Asthma Attack Blog


Asthma Attack Triggers

Although in asthma the underlying airway inflammation is always there, an asthma attack can be triggered or worsened by a number of factors. There are two types of asthma attack triggers;

Allergens and Irritants

* Common asthma allergens include pollen, animals and house-dust mites.
* Common asthma irritants include cold air, cigarette smoke and chemical fumes.

An allergen is a substance that causes asthma attack symptoms by bringing about an allergic reaction. An irritant is a substance that precipitates an asthma attack by aggravating the airways.

Keeping a diary of the times and circumstances that precipitates your asthma attack or causes your asthma to worsen can help you and your doctor pinpoint exactly what your asthma triggers are. Once you have identified your asthma triggers, you can take steps to deal with them.

Showing posts with label Asthma In Children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asthma In Children. Show all posts

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Can Your Asthma Diet Cause You Asthma?

Every asthmatic person knows how difficult it is to keep up with the strict asthma diet because it simply does not allow you to eat all the fatty processed foods that are not only easy to cook but delicious to eat too. Well, since asthma is a respiratory disease, it is important for asthmatic people and their families to understand its possible triggers that could lead to the swelling of the person's airways causing them to have difficulty breathing. The food that people who have been diagnosed with asthma should be well picked and chosen to ensure that they are healthy and that they will not trigger an asthma attack.


There is no denying that a person's choice of food and drinks speak so much of the kind of lifestyle that they are living. Sadly, those who choose to eat foods that are rich in fat and cholesterol are those who are likely to develop asthma and other respiratory disease or even a heart problem. A person's diet plays a big role in his survival. In an environment where anything can happen, if a person wants to be healthy and live a normal life for a long time, it is important that he eats all the right kinds of foods. An asthmatic person's diet includes all the healthy and nutritious foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.


Did you know that asthma as a respiratory disease is actually a product of the body's allergic reactions to the food intake of the person of the environment he is exposed to? Sadly, unlike other diseases, asthma can lead to the development of more small and big health problems that pile up as a person gets older. What kinds of foods do you eat? Are you allergic to any food or drink? If you do not have an idea of the foods that you may be allergic to, it could cause a lot of trouble for asthmatic people because the moment that they eat foods that they are allergic to, they experience difficulty in breathing and the problem could elevate to something that could be worse or perhaps even fatal.


How much of the food that you are eating is healthy? You might have a hard time answering this just like everybody else because you know that you are not eating as much vegetables or fruits and that all you have been eating are processed foods. No one could blame you considering the working hours that you have to keep and the lack of time to prepare delicious yet healthy meals and you just have to settle with the foods serve in fast food chains. Although this may be true and perhaps even forgivable, this kind of diet is not helping you because you are asthmatic. In fact, the kind of diet you are keeping is filled up with fatty foods and processed meat that is totally not good.


If you want to overcome your asthma or you want to limit the possibility of having attacks, then now is the right time to change your asthma diet. Include all the foods that need to be there like vegetables and fresh fruits and exclude all those that contain fatty acids and cholesterol. When you do this, not only are you saving yourself from asthma but you are saving it from all the other terrible diseases that could put your life in great risk. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Why Is It Complicated To Diagnose Children With Asthma

It is always a very complicated task to diagnose someone with asthma but diagnosing a baby is much more difficult than an adult. Most of the doctors almost never diagnose asthma in babies under 2 years of age because they can't do any scientifically proven tests which could confirm this diagnosis. Only some advanced medical institutions carry out that kind of tests but most of them still have experimental status.


The methods of diagnosing your child will be different depending on how old he is. If your child is still an infant then prepare yourself for a lot of questions about his and your medical history as well as his symptoms but if your kid is more than 4 years old then it is easier to make a more precise diagnosis by the help of different tests.


There are some asthma specialists who can try to diagnose babies with asthma even if they are under 1 years of age. Even though an infant is not able to tell us about how he feels, most of the usual symptoms are clearly noticeable such as wheezing and coughing, however, there are a few problems:


Babies have small and weak airways, so they often suffer from respiratory illnesses which have very similar symptoms to asthma;
The symptoms are not the same in all asthma cases - you can even have this disease without wheezing which is usually considered as the most common sign of asthma and also you can experience wheezing without having asthma.


In short, besides the lack of testing methods, there are a lot of other factors which make this whole thing more complicated, so that is the reason why you should trust the task of diagnosing your baby to a doctor who specializes in childhood chest problems. By taking a look at the symptoms, doing physical examination and analyzing family's medical history the specialist should be able to make a precise diagnosis. In some cases it may not be possible but you have to accept that and make sure you do everything to cure your baby's health problems regardless if he has asthma or some other respiratory disease.


The usual methods that are used for diagnosing asthma are peak flow and respiratory tests but, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to successfully undergo these tests for children younger than 4 years of age. As your child grows older he will be able to take more precise lung function tests which can confirm if the earlier diagnosis was correct, so diagnosing asthma in pre-school children is much easier than in infants. If your child is already around 6 years old then you shouldn't worry about a possible inaccurate diagnosis anymore.


Miks is a 22 year old student and he loves writing articles about different health topics. You can take a look at his latest article about asthma in babies if you are interested in finding out more about the usual symptoms, triggers and treatment options. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Adult Onset Asthma: The Unknown Causes

Adult Onset Asthma can appear at the most unexpected times. It doesn't matter if you are 20 years old or you've never had asthma before, if you're having shorter breath, swelling airway lining, frequent coughing, wheezing, and these irritating chest pains? You might be having asthma. The difference between adult onset asthma and childhood asthma is that while the symptoms of childhood asthma may come and go, the symptoms of adult onset asthma may be continuous which may require regular medication to manage the disease. This article deals with all the necessary things that you should know about asthma.


People who have the likelihood of getting this kind of disease include women who are having hormonal changes like pregnant women and women undergoing menopause. It also includes women taking estrogen following menopause, people who just had colds or flu, obese people. People with allergies also develop asthma such as cat allergy, and people who are constantly exposed to environmental irritants like tobacco, smoke, mold, dust, feather beds and perfumes which can work as triggers of this disease. This are causes that we usually ignore when we are adults. We always think that they cause little to our health but in fact it does cause serious consequences especially with the occurrence of it.


The Value of Asthma Education


Knowing its symptoms is necessary in order to prevent damage. Symptoms have to be known for a more effective treatment. The lung airways have to be regularly checked and observed so that medication can adjust to the levels of changes of lung airways activity. Adult onset asthma may cause the lung airway linings to swell, increase the production of large amount of mucus which might be thicker than the normal production, cause the narrowing of lung airway due to muscle contraction.


These physiological changes may cause the shortness of breath, frequent coughing especially at night, a whistling noise while breathing, difficulty in breathing itself and frequent chest pains. Asthma can be diagnosed by taking a medical history since it can be genetically acquired, having the doctor listen to you breathe, performing a lung function test, performing a methacholine challenge test, and having the doctor see the chest X-ray result. Learning about this disease assures you that you won't be doing the wrong things.


Adult onset asthma can be deadly in severe cases. It is indeed important to keep track of the symptoms and have your physician create a care plan called the asthma action plan. Based on your history and the severity of your disease, the action plan can be entrenched from it's characteristics. Your asthma action plan describes your medications- when and how you're going to use them, the procedures that should be executed when your asthma abruptly worsen, and gives you necessary information regarding when and to whom you're going to seek care during emergency. Make sure that you understood your plan and don't forget to ask questions from your trusted asthma care provider. Although this may sound cliche but remember it's true: health is wealth.


Adult Onset Asthma can be prevented or can be treated along if you have the right information about Asthma Facts. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.

Saturday, 23 June 2012

Indoor Asthma Irritants: 5 Indoor Pollutants To Eliminate

Managing asthma effectively means reducing the triggers that cause flare ups. You can raise air quality and your quality of life by reducing these top 5 irritants in your indoor air.


Dust Mites - The presence of these little bugs can lead to the onset of asthma as well as exacerbate an existing condition. No one escapes these little bugs in their home regardless of how good a housekeeper you are.


They thrive in warm, moist, and dark places which makes the bedroom ideal, and more specifically every bed in your home, a perfect target.


Dust - This collection of particles is distinct to each home but generally includes dirt, minute pieces of paper from mail, magazines and other paper products, outdoor particles that get blown in such as pollen and mold and mildew spores, pet dander, and on it goes.


Airborne Chemicals - Unfortunately, these are becoming more prevalent in the products we use for everyday living. Scents from cleaning and personal products, formaldehyde used in building materials, chemicals that off gas from pressed wood furniture, and those used to fire-proof draperies and clothing can really pollute indoor air.


Being vigilant about the products you select to bring into your home can improve your air quality. But often it's difficult to figure out which fumes or combinations are causing the problem.


Smoke - The banning of smoking in public places has resulted in major improvement of air quality in restaurants. But if you live with a smoker who can't stop smoking, or your apartment situation makes you vulnerable to second-hand smoke, you're in a tough spot.


The chemicals, smoke and particles that burning of any kind naturally produce can really cause havoc with asthma. Wood burning stoves and fireplaces can also prove to be irritants and can often push irritant levels to the point of a flare up.


Spores - A natural part of nature, mold and mildew spores as well as seasonal pollens are constantly hitching a ride into your home as doors open and clothes, on packages, in hair, and on pets.


Regardless of how many precautions you take, there is no way to stop some outside air, and all that it contains, from coming indoors.


In fact, the only way to keep all of these airborne triggers continually under control is to filter the air continually with an air purifier that contains filters capable of eliminating both gaseous and particulate irritants.


24 hour filtration is an effective yet non-invasive way to maintain clean air 24 hours every day. And just knowing that the air in your home is not going to sabotage your health provides a physical and emotional haven that you can look forward to enjoying. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on asthma online.